12 A Lesson
by redcloudedleopard
Summary: Venturing deeper into Reed x Sue here.


He was engrossed in his worries…again. One thing's for sure, he wasn't good at relaxation of strictures when it came to matters regarding the lab. Sue shook her head behind his back, with a muted chuckle.

"Reed?"

Only tapped, beeping keys on his console sounded. It wasn't until he picked up a fragrance wafting through the air that he knew she was there.

"Oh! Hello, Susan. I'm sorry; I'm cleaning up some things."

"I bought us both dessert. The best bread & butter pudding around the block."

"Maybe later."

He heard a deep sigh behind him, but continued his rapid typing of computer coding.

"Take a break."

"What?"

"Reed, take a breather. Please do."

His eyes left his work again as he obeyed her. He wasn't annoyed, fortunately, but was smiling in a slightly cheeky way. That gesture stopped her from whining more. His arm elongated to surround her right shoulder & he pulled himself up to get closer to her. He took a spoon she had brought & scooped up a little of the scrumptious food.

"This is great," he said joyfully.

She just grunted & relished the pudding in silence. Reed had a tiny tingling in his head – the sort that told him something wasn't quite right. He agreed with the thought. Today the Puppet Master had displayed a high supervillain danger level. You could even say he was an epitome of villainous scheming, for he could control minds near & far from within his prison cell. All this using mere handmade cosmic puppet figures.

In Reed's mind's eye, Phillip Masters was just about as dangerous as Doctor Doom himself. The experiences of being controlled for weeks by a mysterious force you aren't aware of: this served as a reminder of what elaborate ruses the bad guys could possibly piece together.

Therein lay the reason why Reed was a little tensed up at this hour. Getting down to business right after Puppet Master was boxed up in the Vault, he was further upgrading H.E.R.B.I.E., the security systems, & struggling to think up additional uses for his inventions against the FF's foes. The new integrated system would be a boon to the team _& to New York City itself_. Sue didn't seem to understand.

"Susan, listen, I've got a very important job to do. The closer I get to make the Baxter Building impervious to security breaches, to likelier we can better facilitate the process of anticipating & detecting supervillains."

"You got to calm down. Take it slow. Surely villain attacks don't just happen straight after one another. You know that from experience. _It isn't all that bad._"

"But…."

"Reed."

He sat on his chair & gazed downward, pressing both hands against his temples.

Sue continued, "I can honestly tell you - you're a born leader. You take personal responsibility for the team's success & safety & all but…._stop blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong._"

"Do I really look all worked up?" his tone relaxed a little.

"No doubt about that!" she guffawed.

"I suppose my stretchability suggests that I'm pulled in conflicting directions at times…"

Her chortles filled the air, "Yup, that's you! I agree with that."

"It's just that, I always have this continual expectation of the next world-threatening menace. What if the next Skrull invasion scheme catches me off guard? What if Mr. Fantastic's latest gadget misfires at the critical moment?"

"Do you really think you can control _everything _that happens to you & around you?"

Another big, big sigh, this time from him, "No."

"Listen, if you're still caught up about anything you did that let us down before, you got to leave it behind."

"Meaning?"

"You know, **forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead**? It's like a skill anyone can learn."

"I've never really pondered such a statement."

"Well, I do know it comes in handy. I've needed it all this time, after my mom & my dad --"

"Yes, I understand. You have had it rough. Any news about your dad?"

"Nope. I haven't been able to locate him," her head drooped, "but one thing's certain: just take whatever's thrown at you." Her countenance lit up although she wasn't smiling. Then she said, "My powers have taught me that." She shaped her hand & formed a miniature force field over her palm, looking upon it intently.

Reed was well aware of the emotion she was caught up in, & perked her up with one word, "Intriguing."

They paused for a while.

"You're incredible," a nice grin curved up his lips, "& indeed very persistent. Thank you for the advice."

"Don't mention it," she reciprocated, "the world's still spinning, so you haven't officially failed us. Don't hurt yourself."

"You done with the pudding? It's rather delicious."


End file.
